Pianist Julie Rivers is an incredible find! Playing since the age of two, she won all the awards offered to pianists by the School of Music at The University of North Texas, where she graduated with high honors. With some of the best chops in the genre, Julie seems completely at home in the classical traditions as well as with jazz and blues. An avid astronomer, the pieces tell the story of the hours and moods of “One Starry Night” to the dawn of the next day. The styles are varied, exhibiting Ms Rivers’ versatility as a musician and composer. Randy Wills provides synthesized orchestrations, and Bob Bowman appears on several pieces on bass. Several other musicians join Julie on “Midnight Blue (Nocturne)”, and Lars Peter Larsen plays a mean Spanish guitar on “Senorita de la Noche Estrellada”.

My favorite track on this outstanding album is “Midnight Blue (Nocturne)”, a slinky bit of jazz ensemble playing. The “band’s” parts were composed by Frank Mantooth, a noted arranger and musician, and a former college classmate of Julie’s. The album opens with “Meridian Crossing”, a piece that reminds me of some of Suzanne Ciani’s earlier work. Full of optimism and hope, it soars to the heavens. “Sunflower Fields” is also full of warmth and joy. “Aphrodite” shimmers as the Greek goddess of love leads a flirtatious chase through the twinkling stars. “Star Pool” is much more free-form and ambient, reminding me just a little of Clara Ponty’s work. The piano dances and swirls on a backdrop of synth voices and floating instrumental color - a very effective and beautiful piece. “Senorita de la Noche Estrellada” is a bit of a surprise with traditional Spanish rhythms and phrasings. “Soul Thoughts” is a dark and bluesy piano solo - great stuff! “Spheres and Seraphs” could only have been composed by someone who has played lots of Mozart and Haydn. A lighthearted romp, it goes from a bouncy Classical era-styled theme to a sweet orchestral variation on the theme to a thumping rock version and back to a chamber group. Very upbeat and lots of fun, this piece is bound to bring a smile!

Classy as well as classic, One Starry Night will beg to be listened to over and over again. I can’t wait to see what Julie Rivers has up her sleeve for her next album! One Starry Night is currently available from earthstarrecordings.com, and will be for sale on Amazon.com soon.